By Sue Moore
As Schoolcraft residents prepare to go to the polls, Tuesday, August 5, to vote on the Schoolcraft Schools’ $14.4 million bond request, the district had scheduled two more community forums to give residents a chance to tour the buildings and get up- to-date information on the building plans.
The forums will be held Wednesday, June 4, and Thursday, June 19, at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center (PAC). Site visits are scheduled in each building beginning at 5:15 before each session, said Superintendent Randy Stitt.
The proposal for the $14.4 million bond issue began over a year ago with the formation of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to review the possibilities.
The CAC and the school board have kept the community informed throughout the decision-making process, including the final proposal which includes plans to build a new middle school and make other infrastructure improvements throughout the system.
“We have to go to the voters for infrastructure improvements because the state’s student foundation grant doesn’t come close to covering the upkeep on our buildings, let alone the possibility of building a new middle school,” said Stitt.
The biggest portion of the proposal includes plans to build a new middle school by adding a wing on to the current high school that was built over 11 years ago.
The current middle school building would be used as a community meeting and recreation place and renamed the Ken Krum Community Center. The building currently named after the late Ken Krum, a Schoolcraft car dealer, would be closed as it is deemed too costly to renovate.
Another piece of the proposal is to close the Early Elementary school and move all pre-school through fourth grade classrooms to the Elementary School building as there would be adequate space there, Stitt said.
“The recommended changes make good business sense,” said Stitt. “We run as efficiently as any district in the county but there is still a projected shortfall of $190,000 in operations for the 2014/15 school year if the state doesn’t come through with enough money.”
Detailed information about the proposal is available on the Schoolcraft Schools website, the Facebook page created by Katie Redmond, and in a brochure that will be mailed to all the school district residents.